FRIDAY 7 – 9 pm – FAMILY DANCE and ICE CREAM SOCIAL – a chance to do some group dances in a fun family setting. Learn the barn dance, butterfly, schottische, waltz, polka, two-step, seven step – AND make a great sundae on break! Dance and Sundaes are included in Registration, or tickets for dance alone are $5 at the door.

SATURDAY 7:30 pm – CONCERT – FIVE ON A STRING Bluegrass Band – a great family show with lots of hot picking, bluegrass, vocal harmonies and fiddle tunes. Invite family and friends – tickets for concert alone are $20 per person, or free with registration. It’s sure to be a fun time! Doors open at 7:00 pm.

SUNDAY MORNING there will be opportunity for private group lessons – – with the instructors from Five on a String. Please book this on Saturday.

Over 100 Active Members, including approximately 25 children/youth and 16 ‘Life Members’ (a special designation with benefits awarded to those members who have provided exceptional volunteer support for the club). Annual memberships, due in September, are $16 for adults and free for children and teens.

WEEKLY JAM SESSIONS – every Thursday evening 7 – 9:30 pm, September to June, at the Elder Citizens Recreation Association Hall, 1692 10th Avenue, Prince George. Everyone is welcome to come out to play fiddle, attend a group lesson, back up the fiddlers with other instruments, dance, or just listen while visiting with friends over coffee. Group Fiddle Lessons offered on jam nights in adjoining rooms 7:15 – 8 pm, weekly for Beginners and monthly (last Thursday of the month) for Intermediate/Advanced.

PLAYOUTS – groups of fiddlers and backup musicians volunteer their time on a rotating basis to regularly entertain at one of the seniors’ residences or the cancer lodge monthly from September to May. Musicians also entertain at Special Events in the community as requested.

GUEST INSTRUCTORS – The club occasionally brings in a renowned fiddler to put on a concert and provide group instruction (cost to students covered by the club) and individual private lessons if desired.

HISTORY of BRANCH #1

Informal fiddling jam sessions in the 1960s in Prince George led to the formation of the BC Old Time Fiddlers’ Association in 1968 that would bring all fiddlers and backup musicians together to further promote and encourage the art of old-time fiddling. The founding members became the first board, but other enthusiasts quickly joined in. The board formed their own constitution and held their first contest in 1970. For the early years the contest was held in conjunction with the Fall Fair and was extremely popular. Guest fiddlers in the early years (who were also judges) included Al Cherney, Graham Townsend, Calvin Vollrath and Reg Bouvette. Fiddlers came from all over the province as well as Alberta and the US to enter the contests, which eventually led to the formation of other branches throughout the province. In 1978 a group was formed to head up a provincial association and Prince George became Branch #1 of the British Columbia Old Time Fiddlers’ Association. The Prince George club became very active in the 1970s and 80s, and in 1977 had two 16 foot giant fiddles built to scale that decorated parade floats and contest halls for many years. The Championship Contest continued to be held in Prince George for 1978 and 79, and after that it began to rotate throughout the branches. Prince George hosted the Provincial Championships in 1989 and 2014 to mark the club’s 20th and 45th Anniversaries.

CURRENT

In November 2018 we had a fantastic evening to mark our 50 YEAR CELEBRATION. There was a full house of 135 tickets for a catered dinner, concert featuring former and current members performing tunes written by some of the early members, and a dance. We even brought in our GIANT FIDDLES, which were created for the club in the 70s. The first branch has evolved since its formation 50 years ago, and we currently have a good mix of all ages participating in jams, lessons, dances, jamborees, play-outs, performances and volunteering. The branch has grown and changed, and become a more vibrant part of the community. Like many other branches, the Prince George branch became concerned with decreasing numbers of contestants in the contests, and in 2015 replaced the contest with a Jamboree, a fun weekend filled with workshops for various levels of fiddling and backup, as well as a concert, dinner and dance. Our first four Jamborees have been great successes and plans are underway for the 5th Jambouree.

Thursday Jam nights bring 50 to 100 people out weekly at 7 pm. On jam nights we offer group lessons in adjoining rooms, both beginner and advanced, for the first 45 min while the accompanists have their opportunity to provide songs and music for the dancers in the main hall. A weekly group fiddle lesson was a dream of two of our members who have since passed away, Charlotte Lapp and Ardea Wylie. After their lesson this mixed group of children, teens and adults of all levels of ability then go on stage together to play some of the new tunes they have been learning, as well as other fiddle tunes, until 9:30 pm. As always, the fiddlers are joined by an array of backup musicians on stage and a room full of dancers on the floor, which gives them an opportunity to learn dance tempos and practise playing with other musicians. This group often opens for celebrity fiddlers that we host for concerts and workshops. They also play for community events as a large group, while smaller groups play regularly each month at 8 seniors’ residences. Besides our weekly jams we have monthly dances from September to March, with rotating groups of fiddlers and backup providing the dance music and volunteers providing a lunch and bar.

The club is able to continue only as long as we have helpful and willing volunteers, which can be challenging in this busy day and age. We now have a Facebook page, a valuable way to share upcoming events and new fiddle tunes. With our membership at over 100 and new fiddlers coming all the time, we believe the club is an inspiration to the community to develop an appreciation for old time fiddle music, as well as being a source of learning and enjoyment for all member musicians and supporters.

Executive for 2019, elected at AGM January 27, 2019:

President: Barry Nakahara

Vice President: Beth Bressette

Treasurer: Michelle Sims

Secretary: Chris Pittenger

Directors:

Kareen Graham

Kerry Williams

Breanne Palik

Shawnee Newton

Janet Thwaites

Annual General Meeting

Last Sunday of January each year – January 26, 2020

Location: Elders Citizen’s Rec Center, 1692 – 10th Avenue.

Time: Pot Luck Dinner at 5:00 PM with meeting and jamming to follow. New Executive to be voted in at that time.